Dirac vs 8-band McIntosh EQ


Hi,

I am looking for experienced advice to help decide how best to upgrade my stereo system.

I own a Nad C658 which offers Dirac room adjustment and has a good DAC.  Considering keeping it and adding a McIntosh C2300 (no DAC) that has limited eq adjustment.  Optionally, I am considering returning the C658 and buying a McIntosh C52.

is it better to keep the C658 and use the Dirac to adjust for the room and have limited EQ, or, just have the C52 with the 8-band EQ for adjusting source material without the Dirac?

I listen to solely digital sources (Tidal, ripped CD’s in FLAC format)

What do you think?

Warmly,

bill

william2652
Dirac is not just an extremely fine eq but it is a phase adjustment process.  It alters the phase/timing of certain frequencies on each speaker to make them time-correct at your listening position.  In my experience, it does funny things to the sound - it makes all audio sound like it's right around your ears (like wearing headphones) instead of 6-8 feet out in front of you.  I also didn't like how it treated bass.  On most Dirac devices, you can tune how much it does each frequency area and how aggresive the tuning is, but I prefer room treatments.  Many love Dirac.

On the other hand, an 8 band EQ is a VERY rough adjuster and it is most likely not going to be precise enough to handle your specific room problems.  It is a course adjustment that's better than just bass/treble knobs and it may help the lack of some frequency areas, but you are likely going to have a much more narrow problem area. lol.
Dirac is significantly better than graphic or parametric EQ, and most other room / speaker correction products. If you want to keep Dirac but have more flexibility in your choice of audio hardware, you may consider picking up an outboard Dirac unit like the miniDSP SHD for pure-digital processing before it reaches your DAC.